I’ve waited right until the end of the year to unleash my lists - and they’ll be coming over the next few days.

• Top 40 tracks
• Top 40 albums
• Top 10 live shows
• Best Artwork
• Biggest letdowns

To kick off, here’s the first installment of the tracks countdown.

	40: The Ting Tings - Shut Up And Let Me Go Columbia I’m starting my 2008 countdown with a confession; I was wrong. Wrong to blast this Salford duo as force-fed music industry pap. I’ll still count my bile as valid againts the horrendous That’s Not My Name, but this and stablemate Great DJ are perfect pop songs. MP3 Video
	39: Foals - The Race For Radio Supremacy Transgressive Foals entered 2008 as media darlings, yet some of the hype faltered in the news that Antidotes would not include Hummer or Mathletics. Yet the record was still intriguing, and probably benefited from the lack of big-single syndrome. This is the pick of the LP for me. MP3 Buy Antidotes
	38: LCD Soundsystem - Big Ideas DFA After a blistering 2007 where James Murphy and co strode above end-of-year lists like a colossus, Big Ideas was a rare 2008 outing for LCD. The knowledge of pop-hook craft remained, and this cut from the soundtrack to 21 is no mere offcut from Sound Of Silver. MP3 Buy Big Ideas
	37: Madonna - 4 Minutes Warner A huge success from the otherwise disappointing Hard Candy LP. Surely it would be difficult to fail with a superstar team of Madge, Timberlake & Timbaland? One of the pop records of 2008. MP3 Video Buy 4 Minutes
	36: The B-52s - Eyes Wide Open Astralwerks “I don’t want to clash, I don’t want to rehash the past” Kate sings, and it is no rehash - I never dared to think that the B-52s would sound this good, this up to date, yet so utterly them in 2008. A totally unexpected pleasure. MP3 Buy Funplex
	35: Mogwai - Batcat Wall of Sound There’s no following of the post-rock quiet-loud-quiet formula here, Batcat belts out of the speakers obliterating everything in it’s path. A highlight of their excellent 2008 live shows, where it sounded even louder and even more vital. MP3 Video Buy Batcat
	34: The Kills - U.R.A. Fever Domino Scuzzy, short and superb. The Kills finally got some mainstream exposure for this record - and that was before Jamie Hince’s massively publicized on-off thing with super-stick Kate Moss. MP3 Video Buy U.R.A. Fever
	33: Duffy - Rockferry Polydor Originally released at the back end of 2007, well before her media star began its rise, Rockferry is a rare treat, a blue-eyed soul classic and free of the Winehouse-isms that afflict the rest of her debut LP. MP3 Video Buy Rockferry
	32: Errors - Cutlery Drawer Rock Action Signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action, Glaswegians Errors outshone their illustrious stablemates in 2008. Cutlery Drawer is slightly atypical of their output, featuring a stark spoken word vocal by Londoner George Pringle. Wonderful. MP3 Buy It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever
	31: Emiliana Torrini - Gun Rough Trade How had I never caught Ms Torrini before? It was only an Amazon recommendation that belatedly turned me on to Me And Armini. Housed within was this staggering track - dark, taut and twisted with a breathy vocal to die for. MP3 Buy Me And Armini

It is dark inside St Giles, an eighteenth century church deep in the West End, and Anthony Gonzalez has just walked unannounced between the pews. He steps alongside his transparent box of tricks as analogue hiss seeps from the speakers. Slowly Gonzalez builds and tweaks the waves, heading towards a gentle pulsating crescendo. It’s an unassuming yet fixating live introduction, and begins a gig that I have awaited with absurd levels of excitement.

The night didn’t start that well - due to a late soundcheck the doors didn’t open for over an hour, leaving a cosmopolitan queue snaking it’s way along St Giles High Street on a cold December night. Once the doors opened, it was strange to head down the aisle of a church and file into the pews, facing an altar spread with all sorts of wired boxes and synths. To my great pleasure there’s a full drum kit alongside an electronic equivalent. The full band wouldn’t appear for three tracks or so, leaving Gonzalez to demonstrate his prowess with electronic manipulation and a guitar. And when he sings the clarity is amazing - I’d been told the acoustics in the venue were superb, and my source wasn’t wrong.

When the full band did join the noise levels went up a notch, but only from the low dais. Befitting the ecclesiastical surroundings, the crowd remained relatively silent. The first widespread nods of recognition occur when the spoken word introduction to Moonchild echoes around the high space. As with many of the tracks, it gets a live re-working with the crashing drum fill delayed until the midpoint of the song. It doesn’t quite sound as huge as I have imagined it would in concert, but it doesn’t prevent the angelic stabs sending pulses down every spine in attendance.

Unsurprisingly, the set is weighted towards this year’s supreme Saturdays=Youth LP. Even relative lowlights on the record such as We Own The Sky are reinterpreted as windswept epics, pounding beats from the excellent drummer pegging down cyclonic patterns from the two keyboards. Whilst the drummer is excellent, the second guitarist and the female vocalist are equal - supporting and enhancing Gonzalez’s singular vision. The band are tight, rhythmic and clearly enjoying themselves. Gonzalez and his opposite are frequently pumping at the keys, hips thrusting against equipment racks.

As the set builds towards climax, M83 have saved the best until last, launching into the keening strains of Saturdays=Youth’s highlight Skin Of The Night. Spun out and spiralling it is the peak of the set - the vocals striking incessantly and poignantly, as electronic beats shudder the wooden seats. The set is finished with the unfolding, complex and utterly breathtaking Couleurs, the instrumental pivot that the rest of the album rotates around.

And then it is done - Gonzalez heads back down the aisle to a standing ovation. Whereas coming into the evening M83 had been merely an artist I’ve enjoyed greatly; I leave with it concrete in my mind - 2008 belongs to them.

M83 - America
M83 - Skin Of The Night

Photos: Matt Biddulph

Gig Of The Week 1: Underage Club @ Scala

Oh, to be young again! Under 18 special featuring some of 2008’s best artists, and some great picks for the coming year. Headlining are the excellent White Lies, who have to be the favourite in the recent BBC Sound of 2009 longlist. Backing them are the immense Metronomy, currently riding high in the cumulative Best of 2008 charts. Also on the bill are the great live act Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, whilst the eclectic mix is topped off with Rolo Tomassi. Head down to Scala early on Saturday as things kick off at around 2pm, if you’re young enough that is.

White Lies - Death

Metronomy - A Thing For Me

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Golden Silvers - Magic Touch

Gig Of The Week 2: Fee Fie Foe Fum @ Cargo

Fantastic folky sorts populate Cargo on Tuesday as Laura Marling headlines a strong line up including Jay Jay Pistolet and Johnny Flynn, in celebration of the Fee Fie Foe Fum tour, which many of the artists present took to the USA earlier this year. Somewhat unsurprisingly due to Marling’s ever-growing popularity this is well sold out. But - if you have a chance to pick up spares by hook or crook this could be one of the last great shows of 2008.

Laura Marling - Night Terror

Mumford & Sons -Roll Away Your Stone

Johnny Flynn - Cold Bread

Jay Jay Pistolet - Holly

Laura Marling photo: ipickedmynose

Continue reading for a selected list of what London has to offer this week…

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Gig of the Week: Twisted Christmas - Barbican

As Christmas hurriedly approaches, the larger venues around London have been largely booked up by comedians and tribute shows. Fortunately the smaller venues keep the variety levels high, and this week is no exception. Pick of the bunch is the second in the Barbican’s series Only Connect, the first of which was the Drifting and Tilting concerts featuring the music of Scott Walker. The theme this time round is the underbelly of our traditional festive practices, with the artists performing their own versions of classic and modern Christmas tunes. With artists like Jarvis Cocker, Patrick Wolf and Kathryn Williams involved the event surely has to be interesting to say the least…

Tickets are still available from the Barbican’s website, from £13 to £22.

Jarvis Cocker - Baby’s Coming Back To Me

Patrick Wolf - Stars

Kathryn Williams - Flicker

Don’t forget to vote in our Best of 2008 section

Photos: Patrick Wolf: sugicy; Jarvis Cocker: Lizzka

Read on for the rest of Stereo Jealousy’s recommended London gigs this week…

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Gig Of The Week - Vivian Girls - Brixton Windmill

Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls have had a whirlwind 2008. Recently named in Rough Trade’s 50 albums of 2008 (#9, no less), the band follows support slots with Deerhunter, Fucked Up and Love is All over in the States with a couple of shows here in London. The first is the peach, set in the dark, cramped surroundings of Brixton’s tiny Windmill venue. The sound is resolutely lo-fi, with hints of Sarah Records influence along with classic girl group vs Jesus And Mary Chain noise. So ignore the glitzy XFM bash up the road at the Academy and go and head for Brooklyn in Brixton.

You can stream the entire debut album over at Last.fm

Where Do You Run To (mp3)

Photo: Mercurialn

Don’t forget to vote in our Best of 2008 section!

Click below to see the full week of London gigs…

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